The Return of 3TO (Ridiculously Raking in Nashville) [merged with Hall platoon thread]

[BuckyTuba]

3TO is sporting a 1.167 OPS, that's gotta be good for .800 at the big league level. i bet 3TO could hit .225, better than what hall is giving us at this point.

[craigharmann]

I've been slow to come around, but I think it would help to have Branyan on the bench, as he's a lefthanded bat that can play 3rd, 1st or OF. It sure would help out the bench.

[BrewCrewForever]

Yeah I know AAA and the Major's are two very different animals but I sure would like to have Branyan up. He wouldn't put up the kind of numbers he is now in AAA but he sure would be nice to have off the bench guy who could tie a game with one swing. Also with the way Hall has hit righties this season Branyan could get a start once or twice a week at 3B against RHP. Gwynn gives you a slap hitting lefty off the bench, we have that in Counsell. It's 3TO time! Get it done Doug!

[brewjihad]

Since the recount, I see 8 for bringing him up and 0 against, to recap. I'll echo the line written by BrewCrewIn2004- We don't need two slap-hitting lefties off of the bench. It is time.

[Eddiehitsthefoulpole]

I was never one to worship at the Church of 3TO. But let's face it, we need more left-handed power in our line-up. Branyan gives us a platoon option with Hall and the ability to give the outfielders an occasional day off without drastically changing our batting order. Also, opponents aren't going to make too many pitching changes to counter Gwynn or Counsell. However, they may do it to keep Branyan in the park in late inning situations. That could mean one less lefty for Prince to face in the late innings.

[shelmark]

I will be the first vote against the return of 3TO to Milwaukee. We have a rather extensive body of major league work that tells us that the league he belongs in is the league he is in. How many teams has this guy played for? There is a reason he has bounced from place to place.

[rluzinski]

We have a rather extensive body of major league work that tells us that the league he belongs in is the league he is in.

 

The question is, should we expect him to hit better off the bench than the other LH options we currently have? if you think the answer is no, you probably aren't being very objective.

[mothershipconnection]

We have a rather extensive body of major league work that tells us that the league he belongs in is the league he is in. How many teams has this guy played for? There is a reason he has bounced from place to place.

 

I've really never understood what people are saying when they make that argument. So, he's been let go a few times because teams felt they had a better option. Nobody's every labeled the guy a franchise cornerstone. Rather, he's just good enough to get signed and on a roster, but not good enough to stick when they find a free agent or prospect they have faith in.

 

I don't see what past roster situations on other teams have to do with what this team is dealing with and needs to decide now. Our current 3B options are Hall, playing horribly right now, and Counsell who will similarly give you an OPS in the .600's. I'd love for our other option to be David Wright, but it isn't.

[jackalope02ca]

Been there. Done that. No thanks.

 

We don't really need to go down this road again. He's a K machine in the majors and what has happened to change that?

[kramnoj]

When Branyan is on, his k rate is acceptable compared to the slugging he brings. Slugging equals runs. We wouldn't expect Branyan to be worse than Hall is versus righties right now, and he could be a significant improvement.

[DrWood]

Been there. Done that. No thanks.

 

We don't really need to go down this road again. He's a K machine in the majors and what has happened to change that?

 

I don't mind him striking out 40% of the time if he hits a HR 6% of the time and walks 10-15% of the time.

[BrewCrewForever]

We have a rather extensive body of major league work that tells us that the league he belongs in is the league he is in.

 

The question is, should we expect him to hit better off the bench than the other LH options we currently have? if you think the answer is no, you probably aren't being very objective.

Totally agree Rluz. I'm not saying to Branyan objectors that Russ should play 3B everyday and bat cleanup. I'm saying he is a better option off the bench then Gwynn since we have a slap hitting lefty in Counsell and have two other guys who can play the OF in Kapler and Dillon. Branyan gives you muscle off the bench and can start once in awhile at 3B for Hall against a tough RHP. Yes he will K quite a bit, but he will take his walks and hit some out of the yard. It just seems like a no brainer to me for Russ to be a bench player on the big club.

 

[PrimeTime955]

For all of you using the argument that his past results show that he is not the option we need off the bench right now, need I remind you that his past results are still better then Gwynns or Counsells coming off the bench in a late inning situation. God forbid we had a lefty that could step up and actually drive a ball out of the infield. 3TO is absolutely crushing the ball right now. You can make no excuses for that even if hes in AAA. Consider me in the vote to bring him up.

[BrewCrewForever]

I wish Doug Melvin would vote yes on this as well. Do it Doug! (catch the Mallrats quote there?)

[lukevan]

I've been in favor of this for awhile. If there's a list of names, consider this my X.

 

I'm still wondering why we traded away what was our only LH hitter on the bench with any power in Gabe Gross.

[mothershipconnection]

He's a K machine in the majors and what has happened to change that?

 

What changed is that Bill Hall forgot how to hit. IMO, it's not so much about Branyan as it is that we have some pretty big weaknesses. I'd like to be in a position where we don't need to think about Branyan, Gwynn, Zach Jackson, or Jeff Weaver, but we aren't.

[RyDogg66]

Im probably the biggest Bill Hall fan in the world, and even I wouldnt mind seeing Branyan up to spell Hall against the occaisonal tough righty. Maybe give Hall all the LH starts and enough RH starts to equal half the total starts with Branyan staring the rest vs. RHP. Just a thought.

[TooLiveBrew]

We have a rather extensive body of major league work that tells us that the league he belongs in is the league he is in

 

In what league does a MLB career .800 OPS belong? I understand that strikeouts frustrate many fans, but if you want to talk about 'what we know', then you need to acknowledge that Branyan's career output so far has been, at worst, above-average. And to echo rulz, our other LH bats on the bench are, at best, below-avg.

[BrewCrewForever]

This from TH's Brewers Blog on jsonline.com. I understand you wouldn't want to call up Russ for the three game series this weekend because he would have to clear waivers for him to go back to Nashville but forget the three games he should just come up now Gwynn go down and go with that for the rest of the year.

[TooLiveBrew]

The love-affair with Gwynn is probably the biggest mystery to me so far of the 2008 season.

[endaround]

And not one single mention of Nelson who wouldn't need to clear waivers. Gwynn brings nothing to the team.

[BrewCrewForever]

The love-affair with Gwynn is probably the biggest mystery to me so far of the 2008 season.

I like Gwynn, but he just isn't useful on this team. Especially right now. We have two other guys that are backup OF's and we have a slap hitting lefty already in Counsell. It doesn't make sense, we need a power hitting lefty. Branyan fits that description.

 

[endaround]

And Yost will never use Gwynn as a pinch runner. Who would he ever pinch run Gwynn for? Rivera, who plays 2 games a month and maybe Fielder if Fielder is the tying run on second base in the bottom of the 9th though even there thats unlikely

 

EDIY: Also no reason why Hall couldn't move over to 2B and have Braun take PAs away form both Weeks and Hall until things start going.

[1992casey]

endaround, do you mean Branyan rather than Braun?

[endaround]

Yeah Branyan